Jaguars (4-8) vs. Titans (6-6) Preview

The Titans still have a chance to make the playoffs, while the Jaguars season has been an unmitigated disaster. With that being said, both of these teams have similar profiles. They each have good defenses capable of shutting down anyone, yet their offenses are among the worst in the league. Both have struggled to move the ball through the air. Both rely more on their running games, which aren’t very efficient themselves.

On defense, the Titans like to mix in more disguises in coverage and with their pressures. These schemes have led to disruption of opposing offenses more than they have led to sacks (20th in NFL) or takeaways (29th in NFL). Cody Kessler will make his second start of the season on Thursday, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Jaguars play it close to the vest and protect him from Tennessee’s complex schemes.

The Jaguars Defense, on the other hand, prefers to play things more straight up. They’re a defense predicated on reading, reacting, and letting the talent on the field take over. They’ve had some ups and downs this season and are not the unit they were a year ago – They rank 27th in the NFL in sacks (so much for Sacksonville). The good news for them is that the Titans Offense ranks dead last in sack percentage. There should be opportunities to get to Marcus Mariota tonight.

Neither the Titans or Jaguars inspire excitement on offense. We would not be surprised to see a low-scoring game similar to their Week 3 barn burner, where both teams combined for 15 total points and neither eclipsed 250 yards of offense.